MANILA: A US-Philippines troop agreement recently scrapped by President Rodrigo Duterte could still be salvaged, a senior diplomat said on Monday (March 2), boosting hopes in both countries of retaining one of Asia's oldest military alliances.
Talks were taking place to find a solution, but the alliance would prevail, recognising the importance of the United States as a global power, said Jose Manuel Romualdez, Philippine ambassador to Washington.Romualdez said both countries were looking at how they can"polish" and"improve" the Visiting Forces Agreement , with a Philippines troop pact with Australia and a similar agreement in the works with Japan possible templates.
The VFA, which would end in August, provides rules for the rotation of thousands of American troops in and out of the Philippines for war games and scores of annual exercises. Philippine efforts to protect the alliance underscore contrasting opinions within the Duterte administration and legislature about his foreign policy trajectory, especially over his openly hostile approach towards the United States, where relatives of millions of Filipinos live.
It would also reduce Washington's options in the Pacific region, with complications over a longstanding U.S. troop presence in Japan and South Korea, and only limited engagements for the U.S. military elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
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